A signature sculpture at Dallas' NorthPark Center has returned to its stomping grounds: Five Hammering Men, 1982, a series by American artist Jonathan Borofsky, has returned to the mall following a four-year absence, which they describe as "a period of rest" to conribute to its longevity and lifespan, according to a release.
Borofsky began his Hammering Men series in 1979; it became one of his best-known bodies of work with installations in Basel, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Seattle, Seoul, and Dallas.
The piece can now be found in its original location in SouthCourt, located on Level One between Neiman Marcus and Dillard’s, their motorized arms slowly moving in a hammer-like gesture.
“My original concept was to have many Hammering Men, all hammering at different locations around the world – all at the same time – sort of a worldwide installation connecting us all together,” said Borofsky in his artist statement on the series.
When he was 25, Borofsky started counting for three hours a day, meticulously writing numbers in his sketchbook, convinced that this meditative process would reveal an underlying truth about the human spirit. He eventually began signing his works with numbers instead of his name — which can be found on the feet of the Five Hammering Men.
The installation was removed in 2021 for this period of rest and restoration, the details of which — who did it, where they were stored — NorthPark Center does not reveal. However, NorthPark did post a video of the re-installation on Instagram.
For its 20th anniversary in 1985, NorthPark corralled “A Celebration of Contemporary Art” — an exhibition of 33 works by 24 artists — many never seen in Dallas before, and the first time Five Hammering Men was shown in the U.S.
NorthPark Center developer Raymond D. Nasher said in a statement at the time that it was their goal to give NorthPark an artistic dimension, confirming it as more than a commercial entity and abetting Dallas' dream to become an international place.
That 1985 exhibition included these other works of art, still on view at NorthPark:
- Barry Flanagan’s Large Leaping Hare, 1982
- Antony Gormley’s Three Places, 1983
- Roy Lichtenstein’s Double Glass, 1976,
- Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure: Angles, 1979.
Additional works by Borofsky have been displayed at NorthPark throughout the years, and a larger, singular Hammering Man, 1984-85, from the Nasher Sculpture Center, is currently on view outside of Neiman Marcus off Boedeker Street.
NorthPark will celebrate its 60th anniversary this year, and this installation — which is from the Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Collection — the first of several exciting additions to celebrate this milestone.
"Five Hammering Men has been a favorite landmark at NorthPark Center for 40 years, catching the imagination of shoppers of all ages throughout the decades," NorthPark Development Company president Nancy A. Nasher says in a satement. "Bringing this iconic series by Jonathan Borofsky back to NorthPark is aligned with our mission to make museum-quality art accessible to the public and a wonderful way to celebrate our 60th anniversary."
